Been there, done that. It's hard work for not much return, especially in a small village like mine, the customers are ecstatic about your products and flippin' rude, in equal measure and it nearly killed my husband, who it would appear can't tolerate large quantities of pie, bread and cake

Maggie

Never doubt that you can change history. You already have. Marge Piercy

Agree also Odsox - but for me its the arty-farty, foody fashionistas with their mass media inspired wanna-be gournet "needs" and the niche marketing five acre tree-changers with their over-inflated ego's that keep me away.

They were the ones who tended to be rude, Weedo. One woman flounced out, declaring loudly "I can't believe they don't have anything gluten-free in this day and age". Of course there was no consideration of the fact that everything was freshly made, by us, daily - nothing was bought in, no knowledge around the regulations and requirements re making and selling anything claiming to be gluten-free, or the fact that we were a tiny bakery, in a village of ~300 people making all those shenanigans just not worthwhile - even in tourist season. Of course if she really needed gluten-free i.e. coeliac, she would have brought an adequate supply of products with her - no one with serious health issues of that nature would trust that they'd find suitable food in such remote areas as ours - even in this day and age!

The outstanding example of ecstatic customers was an Australian family. A young couple came in the shop and very quietly asked if there was anything vegan they could buy. When we informed them everything was vegan they ran off and came back with parents and siblings, about half a dozen of them. They cleared us out of pizza, pasties and cakes, which they ate there in the shop, moaning with pleasure, and then loaded up with bread and more, still warm, cake to take away.

Maggie

Never doubt that you can change history. You already have. Marge Piercy

The outstanding example of ecstatic customers was an Australian family. A young couple came in the shop and very quietly asked if there was anything vegan they could buy. When we informed them everything was vegan they ran off and came back with parents and siblings, about half a dozen of them. They cleared us out of pizza, pasties and cakes, which they ate there in the shop, moaning with pleasure, and then loaded up with bread and more, still warm, cake to take away.

If 90% of your customer base had been like this, things may have been quite different!